Source: Radio New Zealand
Porirua midwives Tess Willis (L) and Sarah Dow. Supplied / HNZ
Midwives say a rule-change allowing them to vaccinate parents, babies and their whanau means more people are getting immunised sooner.
After a rule change in February, midwives are able to give a wider range of funded immunisations – including flu and measles – from pregnancy until babies are a year old.
Porirua community midwife Tess Willis from Meraki Midwives said it was a natural fit for midwives who already had trusted relationships and time booked in with parents, meaning no extra travel or additional appointments to manage.
“It’s meaning people are getting immunised earlier, and people that it might have dropped off as, ‘Oh, didn’t get round to doing that’, that’s not happening as much anymore.”
LMC midwife Tess Willis from Meraki Midwives in Porirua. Supplied / HNZ
The online training had been very straightforward, she said.
“We already do vaccinate, and give various immunisations to newborns in the hospital, so it’s not something that’s brand new to us,” she said. “It was more about expanding the scope of the vaccines that we were giving.”
She said midwives could ease the stress of newborn vaccinations for new parents.
“It’s not nice watching your baby cry, but then there’s that comfort level of, ‘This is my midwife who cares about me, and cares about my baby’, so it is probably an overall more positive experience for them.”
Sarah Dow from Domino Midwives, also based in Porirua, said it was a quick and easy process.
“I did it today,” she said. “Someone came in, we had a quick chat, checked in on how they’re doing, and then they were keen to have the flu vaccination, so I just grabbed my little key, opened the fridge, prepared the vaccination, bring it in, and just gave it on the spot. It takes less than five minutes.”
And the mandatory wait-time afterwards could be used to finish off their appointment, she said.
They also had a kit on-hand to treat rare reactions to the vaccine, if needed.
LMC midwife Sarah Dow from Domino Midwives in Porirua. Supplied / HNZ
Director of prevention – immunisation at the National Public Health Service, Nikki Canter-Burgoyne, said it was about removing barriers to access to improve immunity across communities.
Health New Zealand (HNZ) data for the three-month period ending 31 December 2025 – the latest data available – showed coverage for tamariki in New Zealand at 24 months of age was 82.9 percent.
Other recent efforts from Te Whatu Ora to lift immunisation rates included work with Plunket to improve access for whānau, and enabling pharmacies to provide childhood immunisations as well.
The government set a health target of 95 percent of children fully vaccinated at two years of age by the year 2030.
Only this week, Health NZ confirmed a new measles case in Wellington, which was not known to be linked to any previous cases or overseas travel.
That person visited a number of places in the capital and at least one in Palmerston North while infectious in mid-April.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
